Amazing Grace Reviews

• The amazing battle to end the English Slave Trade

  
  By ATXL536YX71TR on 2007-04-06
  Anyone who has seen AMISTAD or ROOTS needs to see the Michael Apted directed AMAZING GRACE which predates and fills in so much of the political and humanistic tug of war that existed concerning the awful dirty business of the African Slave Trade.Hollywood could not have conjectured a more true film than the actual true and inspiring life of William Wilberforce,a revered heroic figure in England,who,with the help of other abolitionists and political sympathizers,takes on the English Parliament and wins legislation to finally end the Slave Trade in 1807.This movie is SO significant because it is this piece of history that leads other European nations to follow suit in subsequent years and eventually to abolish the trade worldwide.Michael Apted has skillfully rescued this story from being another biopic,and has turned it into a sweeping epic that rings historically true.
  No finer actor could have been chosen to play Wilberforce than the Emmy Award winning Welsh marvel Ioan Gruffudd,pronounced YO-an Griffith( HORATIO HORNBLOWER,SOLOMON AND GAENOR,VERY ANNIE MARY).Gruffudd positively understands the heart and soul of Wilberforce,and delivers a tender yet dynamic knockout performance of this absolutely giant among men whose inner convictions and powerful and persuasive rhetoric eventually win over Parliament in a nearly twenty year life-and-death struggle.
  This film brings tremendously true and historical understanding of the political machine that was (and frankly still is) in place from 1785 to 1807.Historical figures argue and debate their opposing views while the lives of millions of innocent Africans and the fortunes and supremacies of national pride hang in the balance.The film moves swiftly and is not preachy or at all heavyhanded in any direction.It simply tells and honest and riveting true-to-life story.Some characters and events are combined together to compact the screenplay,but no truth is lost in the outcome.
  The film takes it's name from the famous 18th-century renowned hymn AMAZING GRACE,written by the Anglican minister John Newton,who had,years earlier,himself been an active and ardent participant in the selling of African flesh.John Newton is portrayed (a bit much like a crazy old celibate monk) by veteran actor Albert Finney in one of the smaller supporting supporting roles.Though much of what Newton says in the film is directly from his own memoirs,he was a married man,who,historically,valued his wife as his best friend.Now in his declining years,Newton,who has in later years been Rector of a London Church,is sought out by Wilberforce,who sat under Newton's pulpit as a child,to have the old minister help him in the cause of exposing the Slave Trade in all of it's ugliness.As was true in Newton's real life,Finney shows that this is the singlemost painful event in Newton's life thus making it next to impossible to discuss.The film directs Newton and Wilberforce over the course of the twenty years in order for the awful truth to come forth.Proof was necessary to persuade Parliament, and Newton was a key piece to passing the abolitionist legislation.
  Up and coming actor Benedict Cumberbatch accurately conveys William Pitt The Younger,in his boyhood friendship with Wilberforce and his subsequent rise to Prime Minister of England.What is inspiring about their relationship is that all of their political idealism comes to fruition showing the power and perseverance that these two young men had in fighting an age old institution that threatened to destabilize all of England.Other historical figures in this film such as Lord Tarlton (the ever amazing Ciaran Hinds)and Equiano (Youssou N'dour),Toby Jones as Lord Clarence (this actor seems to be able to play EVERYTHING!!!) and actors Michael Gambon as Sir Charles Fox do the utmost to bring this film to the heart and consciences of the world today.
  This film is simply NOT just another period piece drama or an "inspirational" film;rather it is an artfully scripted,deftly acted and directed and compelling piece of historical drama that all will benefit from viewing.Again,5 *****'s is not sufficient.May there be more films of such quality and substance made like this!
  Excellent companion films would be A RESPECTABLE TRADE,THE MIDDLE PASSAGE,AMISTAD,THE VOYAGE OF LA AMISTAD, MANSFIELD PARK (1999) and somewhat ROOTS.
  
  

• AN AMAZING, POWERFUL FILM!

  
  By A3VQSFORKH8B7O on 2007-04-15
  "Amazing Grace" is an exceptional film that chronicles the amazing true story of William Wilberforce, the man who spent twenty years in the British Parliament fighting to end one of mankind's greatest injustices: the slave trade. The film features powerful performances by an outstanding cast, including Ioan Gruffudd ("Fantastic Four," "King Arthur," TV's "Horatio Hornblower") as Wilberforce, whose faith and courage drove his fight for social justice. Albert Finney gives an amazing performance as John Newton, the former slave-ship captain turned pastor, and writer of the beloved hymn "Amazing Grace." Michael Gambon, Romola Garai, Youssou N'Dour, Rufus Sewell, and Nicholas Farrell give outstanding supporting performances.
  The rest of the crew does a fantastic job of bringing the world of 18th/19th Century Britain to life. "Amazing Grace" is an amazing film that shows how men of faith can truly help change the world. Amazing Grace, indeed!
  Grade: A
  
  

• Unsung Heroes sing Amazing Grace

  
  By A328S9RN3U5M68 on 2007-11-16
  AMAZING GRACE is a beautifully mounted, well-scripted, powerful film that reminds us that there were heroes in the late 1700s who vehemently fought the fight for abolition of slavery. Benefiting from a tight intelligent script by Steven Knight and directed with great sensitivity and fluidity by Michael Apted, the film captures the flavor of the turn of the 18th century into 19th century in England when slavery was a commodity the wealthy could ill afford to lose, and how the courage and perseverance of William Wilberforce created probably one of the first human rights movements on record.
  
  William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) witnessed the horrors of transporting slaves from Africa to be sold around the world to wealthy plantation owners and to serve as cheap and disrespected servants to the British populace. Encouraged by a previous slave dealer John Newton (Albert Finney) turned contrite priest, his friend Prime Minister William Pitt (Benedict Cumberbatch), and the informed woman of his life Barbara Spooner (Romola Garai), Wilberforce bonds with a band of abolitionists including Thomas Clarkson (Rufus Sewell) and Oloudaqh Equiano (Youssou N'Dour) and begins long years of battling for abolition in the Parliament where cads such as Lord Tarleton (Ciarán Hinds) and the Duke of Clarence (Toby Jones) fight his every word.
  
  One of the hallmarks of this fine film is the dignity it sustains: in a film that could have easily focused on depictions of slave abuse to make its point, it instead elects to keep the focus on the heart of the struggle against the inhumanity by subtle yet powerful means. The title of the film, of course, comes form the song the reformed John Newton wrote as he had a life altering experience to end his slave trading to fight for human rights. It is a haunting reminder that is used throughout the film in the score by David Arnold. The cast is uniformly excellent with not only first class performances by each of the leads, but also by superb cameos from such fine artists as Michael Gambon, Nicholas Farrell, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Jeremy Swift, and Stephen Campbell Moore. The atmosphere of both elegance and poverty of London is captured in the cinematography by Remi Adefarasin. This is an epic film with a powerful message that deserves the attention of us all. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, November 07
  
  
  

• Absolutely AMAZING movie!

  
  By A3CFBDIKSJNYFE on 2007-10-12
  I've long been a fan of William Wilberforce - a man that God used greatly for a great cause: the abolition of slavery and the reformation of manners into the English society. Working at a private Christian school, I often refer to Wilberforce as an example to our students of what God can do with one man wholly committed to Him. In fact, I took sixteen of our students to see the movie when it was released and it had a very profound impact on their lives and thinking -- they saw with their own eyes the struggle of Wilberforce's life, the great cause to which he gave himself fully, and the great joy that comes from a life given in service to the King of Kings.
  
  While I strongly recommend that all Christians watch this movie, parents I'll warn you that the issue of slavery isn't easy to watch or understand at a young age -- I would recommend this movie to middle school students and older, but probably not elementary-aged students.
  
  There are some wonderful resources that you can get to accompany this movie for family discussions and devotions. While most of the Wilberforce books are lengthy, but excellent, let me tell you about a few lesser-known gems. First, John Piper has a great little 76 page book titled Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce -- great read. This same material is actually found in another book by Piper that is simply outstanding -- it is the third book in a series by Piper to reintroduce our generation to some of the great saints of the faith -- Book Three is titled The Roots of Endurance and examines the lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon and William Wilberforce. Finally, one of my favorite finds is a 5 disk CD audio drama set titled Amazing Grace produced by the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre -- you can listen to the lives of Newton, Wilberforce and Olaudah Equiano (a slave who purchased his freedom and was instrumental in the abolition movement in England).
  
  So, purchase the movie, but also look for these additional resources to help deepen the discussion at home with your kids.
  
  

• Very Good, but accurate?

  
  By A3W1JJGJHRPH4Y on 2007-12-02
  I enjoyed the movie. The historical sets were great. The acting was very good. The dialogs had a ring of truth. The love story, although it was a minor part of the minor, was done well. The story needed to be told and the movie told it well. One of the bad points was the movie jumped around in Wilberforce's life quite a bit. Following the time shifts was confusing at times. As the movie went along, the plot was easier to follow.
  
  I read a short biography of Wilberforce and I heard a talk on Newton. I can't claim any expertise on these men, but what little I know of them made me question the movie's historical accuracy. Newton had a congregation. He was not a hermit mopping up a church. He was a popular Anglican preacher. Finney does a great job in the part, but I don't think it represented Newton very well. Wouldn't a better charactorization have been a more historic protayal of Newton who was a slave trader that became a slave of Christ by serving and to preaching all? Rather than a guilt-ridden old man?
  
  I also wished the movie spent more time on Wilberforce's conversion and beliefs. Wilberforce was a thoughtful Christian who wrote books on what he believed. Wilberforce's stamina according to Wilberforce was his reformed faith. The movie just had him studying nature in a worshipful manner in his garden.
  
  In summary, I liked the movie and I enjoyed it. The message needed to be told and it was told well. How England avoided a bloody civil war because of this issue and resolve the issues through a peaceful process was instructive. However, Wilberforce and Newton deserved to have a more accurate protrayal of their lives.
  
  
• Superb
  By A3MZLMXU1MLUWM on 2007-04-07
  There is not much I can add to the previous review as far as importance and story. A period costume piece this film most certainly is not: it's a timeless story of the triumph of good, determination, and perseverance, and a very human telling. Well-written, beautifully scored, finely acted and gorgeously filmed, "Amazing Grace" is a treat for the eyes as well as a balm and inspiration for the heart. I must give kudos to the excellent makeup team - they've done an exceptional job with the entire cast, particularly Ioan Gruffudd (Wilberforce) and Benedict Cumberbatch (William Pitt), both of whom portray men often battling illness and addiction throughout the film. As a former makeup artist I am very impressed with their work, especially with regards to ageing the characters.
  
  The cinematography is beautiful and lush as well, rich with texture and very fine small touches. The colour is gorgeous. Some of the images will stay in my mind for some time! The score - which I purchased immediately after seeing the film the first time - is beautiful and organic.
  
  Finally, the cast is absolutely perfect. Gruffudd as Wilberforce turns in a wonderful performance, portraying a man driven by his dream and hope for a better world. Benedict Cumberbatch, as yet unknown on this side of the pond, was particularly excellent and absolutely sublime as Wilberforce's best friend and PM William Pitt the Younger. His acting and carriage is quite impressive, and if he chooses his scripts wisely, he's likely to have a golden career. The beautiful Romola Garai plays the intrigued-by-Wilberforce and abolitionist Barbara Spooner; her character wanting to hear Wilberforce's story is our vehicle for hearing the backstory as well as encouraging Wilberforce to continue his work. Albert Finney convincingly and honestly plays a minor role as John Newton, composer of the great hymn "Amazing Grace". Finney has a few of the film's best lines. Michael Gambon does a sound and often entertaining turn as Lord Charles Fox (in general Pitt's fierce enemy but aligning himself with Wilberforce anyhow); Ciaran Hinds is perfect as Lord Tarleton (really, he is). Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour plays the former slave Olaudah Equiano, a prominent abolitionist; I found myself wishing he'd had more screen time and opportunity to flesh out his role. As Equiano, his screen presence is quite powerful.
  
  I do wish at least a little more attention had been paid to Wilberforce's faith, a vital part of his life. That aside, "Amazing Grace" is free of the heavy weights political correctness and the twisting of history in order to make sides look good. It's the story of Wilberforce's battle to abolish slavery without silly, vapid or disparaging embellishments.
  
  Overall this is an excellent and enjoyable film, but more than that, it somehow manages to soothe and inspire at the same time. I cover world events, politics, and culture, which can be exhausting and depressing to the spirit. This film was definitely part of the cure for me, and others have said the same thing about the movie. We saw the film for the third time this evening, and the theatre was still half full although I suspect its run here is just about over (of course we have to make room for more inanity and torture-tainment, don't we?). But if you can find it, I can't recommend it highly enough. It is rare for me to give five stars to modern films, but "Amazing Grace" deserves it.
  
  
• The Amazing Battle to End the English Slave Trade
  By ATXL536YX71TR on 2007-09-23
  
  
  36 of 37 people found the following review helpful: April 6, 2007
  
  Anyone who has seen AMISTAD or ROOTS needs to see the Michael Apted directed AMAZING GRACE which predates and fills in so much of the political and humanistic tug of war that existed concerning the awful dirty business of the African Slave Trade.Hollywood could not have conjectured a more true film than the actual true and inspiring life of William Wilberforce,a revered heroic figure in England,who,with the help of other abolitionists and political sympathizers,takes on the English Parliament and wins legislation to finally end the Slave Trade in 1807.This movie is SO significant because it is this piece of history that leads other European nations to follow suit in subsequent years and eventually to abolish the trade worldwide.Michael Apted has skillfully rescued this story from being another biopic,and has turned it into a sweeping epic that rings historically true.
  No finer actor could have been chosen to play Wilberforce than the Emmy Award winning Welsh marvel Ioan Gruffudd,pronounced YO-an Griffith( HORATIO HORNBLOWER,SOLOMON AND GAENOR,VERY ANNIE MARY).Gruffudd positively understands the heart and soul of Wilberforce,and delivers a tender yet dynamic knockout performance of this absolutely giant among men whose inner convictions and powerful and persuasive rhetoric eventually win over Parliament in a nearly twenty year life-and-death struggle.
  This film brings tremendously true and historical understanding of the political machine that was (and frankly still is) in place from 1785 to 1807.Historical figures argue and debate their opposing views while the lives of millions of innocent Africans and the fortunes and supremacies of national pride hang in the balance.The film moves swiftly and is not preachy or at all heavy-handed in any direction.It simply tells and honest and riveting true-to-life story.Some characters and events are combined together to compact the screenplay,but no truth is lost in the outcome.
  The film takes it's name from the famous 18th-century renowned hymn AMAZING GRACE,written by the Anglican minister John Newton,who had,years earlier,himself been an active and ardent participant in the selling of African flesh.John Newton is portrayed (a bit much like a crazy old celibate monk) by veteran actor Albert Finney in one of the smaller supporting supporting roles.Though much of what Newton says in the film is directly from his own memoirs,he was a married man,who,historically,valued his wife as his best friend.Now in his declining years,Newton,who has in later years been Rector of a London Church,is sought out by Wilberforce,who sat under Newton's pulpit as a child,to have the old minister help him in the cause of exposing the Slave Trade in all of it's ugliness.As was true in Newton's real life,Finney shows that this is the singlemost painful event in Newton's life thus making it next to impossible to discuss.The film directs Newton and Wilberforce over the course of the twenty years in order for the awful truth to come forth.Proof was necessary to persuade Parliament, and Newton was a key piece to passing the abolitionist legislation.
  Up and coming actor Benedict Cumberbatch accurately conveys William Pitt The Younger,in his boyhood friendship with Wilberforce and his subsequent rise to Prime Minister of England.What is inspiring about their relationship is that all of their political idealism comes to fruition showing the power and perseverance that these two young men had in fighting an age old institution that threatened to destabilize all of England.Other historical figures in this film such as Lord Tarlton (the ever amazing Ciaran Hinds)and Equiano (Youssou N'dour),Toby Jones as Lord Clarence (this actor seems to be able to play EVERYTHING!!!) and actors Michael Gambon as Sir Charles Fox do the utmost to bring this film to the heart and consciences of the world today.
  This film is simply NOT just another period piece drama or an "inspirational" film;rather it is an artfully scripted,deftly acted and directed and compelling piece of historical drama that all will benefit from viewing.Again,5 *****'s is not sufficient.May there be more films of such quality and substance made like this!
  Excellent companion films would be A RESPECTABLE TRADE,THE MIDDLE PASSAGE,AMISTAD,THE VOYAGE OF LA AMISTAD, MANSFIELD PARK (1999) and somewhat ROOTS.
  
  
  
• Wilberforce was great
  By A3T01DMFNYQ2A9 on 2007-10-20
  I had been looking forward to seeing this ever since the film came out but I regret to say I was disappointed. Ioan Gruffudd was better than I expected as Wilberforce. My beef is with Michael Apted the director for giving such a blatantly unhistorical drama. I do not have time to list the errors but the two most blatant ones are to do with John Newton. The present tune we sing to Amazing Grace was unknown in England at that time so Wilberforce would never have sung it. Newton was not a monk plagued by guilt for being a slave captain. He was a vicar who knew God's grace and forgiveness, hence the hymn. Right from the start when a screen caption told us the British Empire was built on the back of slaves one sensed that present day (erroneous) judgment may be evident. Wilberforce was not bothered by his addiction to opium. It was the one analgesic available and he controlled, not increased, his dosage throughout his life. I do though doubt that he would have been alone with an unmarried lady, unchaperoned through the night. The production is so inaccurate I thought that the director must be American, but no, to our shame he is British, portraying a royal duke in the House of Commons, Fox erroneously ennobled and still there to give the econium on Wilberforce in the hour of triumph though Fox died before 1807.
  
  It was not merely the historical inaccuracy that disappointed me. The flash backs were confusing and took away from the whirlwind nature of Wilberforce's courtship. I found the whole thing rather dull and not a patch on say, Chariots of Fire for an inspirational Christian theme. It was sympathetically done but could have been so much better. Perhaps viewer's who do not know the real story will be more impressed.
  
  
• "Never doubt that a small group...
  By AL5OEDM8TPTKV on 2007-11-17
  ... of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Spoken by the brilliant Margaret Mead, never were truer words spoken. And this grand film is a testimonial to them.
  
  Amazing Grace tells the story of England's attempt to banish slavery from its kingdom. Hurting after the loss of those rapscallion colonies, the British Parliament is debating whether or not to end the African slave trade. One William Wilberforce, a devoted social rights advocate (evidenced by his fondness for animals and the poor), takes up the cause after a particular confrontation with a group of abolitionists one night at dinner. It turns out the journey to end the slave trade begins to wreck his health, and despite some clever ploys to get people to side with him, he ends up strung out on laudanum. Enter Barbara Spooner, herself an advocate for the many social causes that Wilber himself believes in, begins to rejuvinate his devotion and ardor.
  
  The performances of Ioan Gruffudd and Romola Garai carry this film throughout. As Wilber, Ioan is passionate and deeply committed to his performance. Early on, we discover that he finds God (or does God find him, he ponders). Rather than being overwrought and preachy, Gruffudd's sense of joy is palpable. Albert Finney's turn as the former slave ship captain that reforms and writes the title song is brief but glorious, making me wish he was in more films.
  
  Nothing, the stirring music nor the wonderful performances, can overcome the raw emotion this film has. As the people struggle against great odds, there passion and sense of justice only grows. Somehow, from somewhere, they only get stronger in their search for emancipation. This culminates in a final scene that swells with emotion without ever being melodramatic; with fervor without ever being harried.
  
  And as the final scene with the bagpipe and band playing the infamous tune "Amazing Grace" becomes even more than this. It becomes a transformative message of hope, devotion, and ultimately love. What a movie!
  
  
• IT'S WONDERFUL! I LOVED IT!
  By AVFWEZZQQGWSW on 2007-09-12
  I saw this movie in the theater twice and can't wait to see it again and again. Besides being one of my favorite songs, "Amazing Grace" is now one of my very favorite movies of all time. The story is told very well, bringing the viewer into the scenes (at least I felt as though I were there--especially into the parliament debates). All the acting was superb. Albert Finney's portrayal of John Newton was wonderful. Although he was not as suave and good-looking in this one as he usually is, Rufus Sewell (a favorite of mine) did a great job. And Ioan Gruffudd just took my breath away! He WAS William Wilberforce. (He was new to me in this film, and to me he is the most handsome actor in movies today.) The true story illustrated that something very big can be accomplished with faith, prayer, patience, persistence, and dedicated help. In spite of many obstacles and much resistance, Wilberforce never gave up, and he made a very big difference.
  
  
• Ran the half mile in a mile race
  By A2H4AWIOK1REMX on 2007-11-16
  Amazing Grace is a silly title for this film, designed, I assume to capture a conservative, Christian audience. Why? Because the song refers to God's grace, poured out on the undeserving. Wilberforce's faith was not a component of his life; it was what drove his every action. But this movie was clearly made by people who see religious belief as a quaint custom from the past. It exemplifies a very modern sensibility: Christianity, if it must exist at all, should be a social club dedicated to doing good works. "Oh how nice it was when those nice religious folks did such nice things," say, I suppose, the Hollywood folk who created this pap. But the lyrics to Amazing Grace are not about doing good things. Even worthy good things. They show how God rescues us from sin and despair and gives us new life. "I was blind, but now I see." Despite the droning bagpipes and funereal pace that conclude the film, it is a happy song. We have received a priceless gift. Wilberforce is never shown as either blind or seeing. And his faith is a jolly willingness to enjoy nature, but little more.
  
  So, the drive that came from unshakable faith is missing. We see a driven man, but driven because he's a softy, not because he loves God. And how did a whole culture change its mind in just a few years? Slavery had been the way of the world since the beginning of time (and still is in many places.) The English, the owner of the seas, making a good living transporting this human cargo, stopped. And gave up an immensely profitable practice. That is an astounding, nearly unparalleled, accomplishment. How did this happen? One man? No, there was much more going on during this time, and we witness precious little of that. It's as if Wilberforce was working in a vacuum (sure we see the petitions, though why a body generally elected by a very tiny percentage of the populace would care about them I cannot say.)
  
  And, I suppose, as a sop to feminists, his wife is portrayed as a fiery believer, capable of an all-night discussion (which would never have happened between two unmarried people such as these) not the happy stay-at-home mom she apparently was.
  
  Not a bad film, with superlative performances all around, but one that downplays what was important to its protagonists and focuses on what is important to a contemporary audience.
  
  
• A Great Story About The British Abolitionist William Wilberforce
  By A3BEF4IHWI0VC on 2007-04-14
  This film is focused on the little known, at least in America, but historically important William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) who played a vital role in putting an end to the African slave trade in Great Britain. The slave trade was abolished there in 1807, over 50 years before it was ended in the United States. This was especially significant because it was, to the best of my knowledge, the first time a political movement had succeeded in stopping the slave trade throughout an entire nation. It also went on to serve as an impetus and inspiration for the abolition of slavery throughout much of the world. Slavery, of course, being an oppressive practice that dates back to the earliest days of humananity and that has existed throughout world history, including today in parts of Africa, such as the Sudan.
  
  Director Michael Apted does a beautiful job of accurately portraying this important era in British history, with a fascinating set of characters that include Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger (Benedict Cumberhatch), Wilberforce's wife Barbara Spooner (Romola Garai) and former slave and abolitionist writer Olaudah Equiano (Youssou N'Dour). I especially enjoyed the character of John Newton (Albert Finney), the ex-slave trader turned abolitionist preacher who wrote "Amazing Grace".
  
  The movie is passionate without being self-righteous. It also manages to add some depth and nuance to it's characters, especially Wilberforce himself. He is depicted, later in life, as being disillusioned with politics and addicted to the opiate laudanum before his relationship with the young, idealistic Barbara manages to revive his hope and give him the energy to return to Parliament and eventually help pass the legislation that outlawed the British slave trade. An additional nice touch is that it shows how Christian evangelicalism has not always dominated by right wing Republicans. But instead were once leaders in the movement for progressive social change.
  
  This is a very fine film worthy of a large audience. I hope especially that young people and African-Americans turn out to see this movie because, as Bob Marley once sang, "If you don't know your history, then you don't know where you're coming from". Go see it!
  
  
• Not a religious movie. So touching, it may make you cry!
  By A1TKM36EYEQNSM on 2007-04-17
  I went to see Amazing Grace with the teens of my church as a chaperon. I did not really know what to expect with the exception that I was told it was about the abolition of slavery in England. What a great story for all to learn that it was the Anglos in England who were amongst the first to abolish slavery. It is not a story we hear much about. Wilberforce got religion as they say. His mentor, John Newton, who wrote the hymn 'Amazing Grace,' taught him about what slavery was. In the theatrical version of the story, Wilberforce wanted to go into the ministry. Newton suggests to him his calling is to free the slaves, to make that his life's work.
  
  Oh that we had such passion for the things of this life today. I liked it becaused it showed about the potential in man to accomplish great things if he has a heart. I am a believer in God, yet, not a religionist. Religion, sometimes, causes more difficulty because it is so much like men and not like the God that it is attached to. Wilberforce lived his religion. Who knows though, maybe he was an enlightened soul, who really was against the crown, or maybe he really saw the commonalities between himself and the Jacobites in France. He was able to hold forth in his battle in the Parliament.
  
  It is a story like no other in recent times. I hope that more come to see it, that it gets its time in the media. We never really heard much about it. It is a story for everyone. Historical, with a strong ethic for the love of mankind. Wilberforce and his story will inspire people to stand for what they believe. In the times we live in today, it is rare for people to stand up for what is right. Wilberforce is an example of almost unwavering commitment to a cause.
  
  The world was better for his efforts, I think you will be better for seeing, Amazing Grace. I am getting the DVD.
  
  
• 5 Star- AWESOME
  By A359V6GH6R6OJY on 2007-09-09
  It watched this movie 3 times on a British Airlines flight from London to Entebee, Uganda. Absolutely outstanding. A must see. True story. God used this man to change the world. <><
  
  
• Quality in every way!
  By A1CO4L87GLMS8U on 2007-09-10
  This is a beautifully made film. The acting is superb and the story inspiring. It reminds us that one person can make a difference and that there are things in this world worth fighting for, no matter how long it takes. I also recommend John Newton's autobiography, Out of the Depths for more inspiring insights into his experiences. William Wilberforce and John Newton were two true heros. It is refreshing to finally have a film being made about people whom we would do well to emulate rather than all the depressing biopics being made recently.
  
  
• EVERY man, woman, and child ought to see this movie!
  By A3KZ1Q14HQWJUA on 2007-09-15
  This is a powerful, captivating story of how God used one ordinary man to change the course of an entire nation. THIS is an account that you won't find in a secular textbook, as there has been a complete attempt to write God out of HIS-STORY. But this movie is one of hundreds of thousands of true stories showing the power of God, the evil of sin (and a system like slavery), and the courage and fortitude of one man who was willing to lead his generation. (Did you know? The historically black college Wilberforce College was named after William Wilberforce. Also, anyone who has read Olaudah Equiano's slave narrative will find that the two men were contemporaries; Equiano is brilliantly portrayed in this movie, too.) In short, this movie left me sitting in tears in the theater, and I'm sure it will powerfully impact and transform me as I watch it at home yet again. I'm only a young adult, but this is a movie that I will watch again and again; in fact, I will definitely show this to my grandchildren one day. It's just that good!
  
  
• Grace Under Pressure
  By A192KEPM0HW6AC on 2007-09-16
  Every decade or so, a motion picture comes along that captures its subject's heroic essence so perfectly that the film becomes its subject. Such is the case with British director Michael Apted's superb biopic on abolitionist William Wilberforce, passionately portrayed by Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd.
  
  Though Wilberforce is largely unknown to Americans today, this movie is an excellent introduction to the great English parliamentarian who devoted twenty years of his life to eradicating the slave trade throughout the British Empire. (All slavery had been abolished in Great Britain itself by a judicial decision in 1772.) A devoutly religious though thoroughly skeptical man, Wilberforce figured prominently during both the Enlightenment and Britain's Evangelical Revival.
  
  The movie opens as the eighteenth century draws to a close, with Wilberforce not at the beginning of his crusade to end the barbaric practice of slavery, but at what seems to be its most hopeless point. Once one of the youngest members of the House of Commons and a powerful orator, he's now gaunt and dejected, having nearly exhausted his fortune and health in service of his fight.
  
  Riding in a carriage along the muddy road in the rain, he happens upon a driver whipping his fallen horse. Moved to the animal's defense (he was a founding member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), Wilberforce uses simple logic to persuade the driver to cease his brutal flogging, explaining that the horse would more likely regain its strength if left to recover for an hour. This simple exchange, in which he achieves his ideals through practical persuasion, reveals his forceful personality and unyielding integrity, traits that would serve him so well throughout his career as a legislator.
  
  Wilberforce is on his way to the resort town of Bath, There, he hopes, the famous mineral springs will heal his body from the ravages of colitis and addiction to laudanum, an opiate prescribed by his doctors. When he arrives, however, his friends, economist Henry Thornton (Nicholas Farrell) and his wife Marianne (Sylvestra Le Touzel), have a different sort of tonic in mind to cure what ails him. They slyly maneuver their friend into a "chance" meeting with a ravishingly beautiful young abolitionist and social reformer, Barbara Spooner (Romola Garai). Resenting his friends' manipulations, he at first rebuffs her. But the Thorntons are relentless and soon set him up again, bringing Barbara to dinner at Wilberforce's house.
  
  This time their chemistry is too powerful to deny. Barbara and William launch a long conversation that extends into the wee hours. The subject turns to his tireless but fruitless efforts to stop the slave trade, a story told in flashbacks that constitute the bulk of the film.
  
  Elected to Parliament at twenty-one in 1780, Wilberforce barrels into the House of Commons full of piss and vinegar, taking on all comers with his confrontational debating style and razor-sharp wit. One dewy morning, as he lolls about his lawn, transfixed at the intricacy of God's handiwork in a spider web, he experiences a spiritual epiphany.
  
  After his conversion, Wilberforce's interest in the affairs of state evaporates and he ponders a life of religious contemplation. But to those around him--especially William Pitt the Younger (Benedict Cumberbatch), a friend in Parliament who's angling to become Britain's youngest Prime Minister--Wilberforce's divine spark would be better put to practical use. Pitt asks him, "Do you intend to use your beautiful voice to praise the Lord, or to change the world?"
  
  Wilberforce isn't convinced until a group of Quaker abolitionists visit one evening. They bring along a liberated slave from the New World, Olaudah Equiano (Youssou N'Dour), whose memoirs about his horrific passage from Africa would soon spark public outrage against the peculiar institution. He is shocked by the brand on Equiano's chest ("to let you know you no longer belong to God, but to a man," the former slave explains) and by his iron shackles.
  
  "We understand you're having problems choosing whether to do the work of God, or the work of a political activist," says radical abolitionist Thomas Clarkson (Rufus Sewell). Another guest (Georgie Glen) finishes the thought: "We humbly suggest that you can do both."
  
  Taking up the battle, Wilberforce introduces a bill every year to abolish the slave trade--and every year the bill is defeated. Yet he perseveres. In a nation where slavery is largely out of sight and mind, he constantly contrives ways to force it into the faces of polite society. He launches petition drives and sponsors meetings where Equiano lectures and sells copies of his book. At a gathering of MPs and their wives aboard a tour boat, the captain weighs anchor alongside a slave ship just returned from a run between Africa and Jamaica. Wilberforce notes that only a third of the original six hundred passengers survived the journey, and exclaims, "That smell is the smell of death. Slow, painful death. . . .Breathe it deeply. Take those handkerchiefs away from your noses! There now, remember that smell."
  
  Wilberforce ends his painful reminiscing, too taxed to go on. Barbara is clearly moved, finding inspiration in his struggle. The two passionately talk of their ideals, while the sexual tension silently builds between them. If Barbara's fiery red tresses, flawless peaches-and-cream complexion, and corseted, heaving cleavage weren't sufficient to bag the man, nothing would have stirred him. Without a word spoken of love (not to mention sex), romance blossoms instantly and inevitably.
  
  As morning breaks, the two announce their engagement to their friends.
  
  I like this little touch, coming as it did from out of left field. This is old-fashioned moviemaking at its best, with courtship scenes far more erotically charged than the crassly explicit sex in most movies nowadays.
  
  Their marriage and Barbara's pregnancy become a beautifully simple metaphor for Wilberforce's own regeneration of health and will. He heads back to Parliament to fight the good fight once more. Political intrigue moves front and center as Tories Wilberforce and Pitt, along with the abolitionist Clarkson and Whig MP Charles Fox (Michael Gambon, best known as the Headmaster in the Harry Potter series), put their heads together to plot the end of the slave trade. What follows is the best depiction of political machinations that I've seen since Otto Preminger's political thriller Advise & Consent, based on Allen Drury's novel. Witnessing Wilberforce's ultimate triumph left me nearly breathless.
  
  Costume dramas usually leave me yawning, but not this time. Production designer Charles Wood's painstakingly researched and designed sets lends the movie period authenticity, while Remi Adefarasin's factual cinematography downplays idiosyncratic camera angles and lets the actors and the settings predominate. Writer Steven Knight and director Apted's deft balance of gravitas and levity give the whole business a timeless feel befitting its hero's stature, but without clumsy signposting.
  
  The only drawback, I felt, was that Albert Finney, in an otherwise bravura performance, seemed underused--especially considering his pivotal role as John Newton, the former slave-ship captain who later repented and penned the moving hymn for which the film is named. While the scenes depicting his influence on Wilberforce were succinct and heartrending, they also felt somewhat truncated.
  
  Amazing Grace, whose release was timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Wilberforce's legislative victory, February 23, 1807, has been well received by faithful and secular, conservative and liberal. Still, it generated some criticism on the pages of the Wall Street Journal, where guest columnist Charlotte Allen found a "cover-up" of Wilberforce's evangelical Christianity. But the film was not about his religious motives per se; it was about his campaign to end slavery. I think she missed the forest for the trees: The slave-trade abolition was Wilberforce's apotheosis, and that is exactly what Apted put up on the screen.
  
  In a recent interview, producer Patricia Heaton (herself an outspoken, religiously motivated opponent of abortion) described Amazing Grace as an inspiring biography of "the Abraham Lincoln of England" and as an antidote to our "age of such cynicism and despair, particularly about politics and religion."
  
  I agree. William Wilberforce is historically significant for his courageous actions in stopping an inhuman evil. While religion played no small part in motivating those actions, I really doubt that so many talented people would have assembled such an unabashed labor of love as this movie had Wilberforce decided to spend his days contemplating God's grandeur, while ignoring his own potential for personal greatness.
  
  
• Never doubt what a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can do
  By AYSN0J8XHRWG on 2007-04-28
  As most of the reviews here are complimentary (as opposed to at Hollywood video, I would like to respond to some of the criticism found there. Sorry, this movie does not have a whole lot of car (carriage) chases, houses afire, sordid sex scenes or other Hollywood staples). What it does have is heart. William Wilberforce almost single-handedly stood up against a noxious totally-ingrained-social institution and changed the world. This accomplishment was executed quite well in the movie. True, 'Amazing Grace,' does chronicle the end of slavery in Britain (and years before the Americans saw the light, at that), but it does so much more. By the way, Ioan Gruffudd performed beautifully.
  As to the take-away value for today; Are we today overwhelmed by certain noxious-totally ingrained-social-institutions?
  Oh yeah. How to prioritize them: Consumerism, oil dependency, corporate malfeasance, and the sensationalism rampant in the press all make life less than it could be.
  The champions standing up for new directions on all these fronts can take a page from Wilberforce's book. As to the title of this critique, Margaret Mead's full comment was "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever does."
  
  
  
• Excellent,Inspiring and Educational in all ways!Anyone can profit from this film
  By A3RWR50VUII07D on 2007-09-23
  Seldom does a film come along that has somewhat "religious" overtones that does not somehow gender strong and polarizing opinions.Michael Apted and Patricia Heaton have done just that in their magnificently produced,directed,scripted and acted "biopic" on William Wilberforce, the Father of the Abolition of the English Slave Trade.The story of this courageous man and his uphill struggle to bring The Middle Passage Slave Trade to extinction is eye-catching,beautifully filmed and edited with A-listed English actors who totally inhabit their very demanding roles with finesse and sensitivity.The story is fairly presented and is not in the least "preachy" or over sentimental.Having studied the lives and times of the main characters in this film, I found the events to be accurate and well presented.Ioan Gruffudd as Wilberforce always can be expected to turn in a top drawer effort...and he does.Benedict Cumberbatch is a positive revelation as William Pitt.This film does not shy away from Wilberforce's Christianity as it was a part of the man;yet the film does not become overly religious so to make the man any more or less than he was.In fact, Wilberforce is presented in a very fair and balanced light.This film should not offend or discourage anyone whatever their belief system.This film focuses on the prevailing political system of the day and one man's determination to win freedom for Black Slaves.You will be well educated and inspired.A true 5+ star film.
  
  
• Does not do justce to an Amazing tale
  By A26TY6GCGBF5HT on 2007-11-25
  I fear I will be a lone in saying I didn't like this movie but I can't help it. While I am certainly an admirer of Wilberforce, who also created the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (which in this country is known as the ASPCA) and his story is well worth telling, This film does not do him full justice.
  
  To look at it is a lovely film with amzaing details to set, costuming and the like. It is the true story of an amazing man who stood up for years to fight injustice. He opposed the powerful slave owning and slave trading lobbys and took them on, sometimes standing alone as the one voice of human dignity against the reek of money and inhumanity. but the one question the film never answers is 'why?" Why does he do it. In the 21st century I'm sure this would not be an issue. We now all see slavery as the abominationm that it is, but this was a most uncommon view in the late 17th century, so:
  Why did Wilburforce take up the banner?
  Why did this one one have vision that no one else did?
  What, if anything, did he suffer for this unpopular stand?
  One comes away from the film feeling like you missed the first 1/3rd of the story, the part in which this one couragous man is inspired to take up the cause. The audience have been shown worse scenes of slaver treatment in "Roots" a generation ago.Even the trip to the slave ship is sanitized. If we are to believe it was at a dinner where some churchmen call on him, then he is portrayed as very pliable, not something which his life or the rest of the film would imply.
  
  Without this momment of revealation the film plays out like a pagent. Individual scenes are excellent but there is a lacking overall sense of expectation or risk. In the penultimate scene where the anti-slavery bill is passed, the speaker reads out the votes 'yay' and 'nay' but since we had not heard any such vote totals in the past this lacks the excitemnt of the victory the true vote must have had. You know he's going to win.
  
  The very last scene is a British military band, lead by a lone piper playing Amazing Grace, possibly one of the most beautiful hymns ever written, made more so if you know the tale behind it. The man who wrote it was not a slave owner. He was a slave trader who brought ship loads of people into bondage. Then, in one Atlantic crossing, in a terrible storm he had an epiphany and did not just give up the trade, he turned the ship around and released the people in his hold already.
  "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me."
  He dedicated the rest of his life to atoning for his sins but in the terms of the movie, the military band makes absolutely no sense. A chruch choir would have been far more fitting.
  
  My poor review is not of Wilberforce or his achievments, but of this film about them. It is a tale of a man with vision and compassion far beyond his time. Wonderful to look at "Amazing grace" does him a disservice by short selling his character, his life and his accomplishments.
  
  
• A simply stunning piece of art!
  By A21CTFROC0TACW on 2007-09-19
  This is probably one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen...and the acting is superb. I am a fan of most of the actors in the movie, which is why I saw it in the theater with my family. We've been watching for it to come to DVD ever since. For those of you who may remember Ioan from his A&E Hornblower series, he brings back the period charm in this movie with a flourish! All of the actors are supremely convincing in their parts. You really must give this movie it's due.
  
  
• History, Romance and Drama Wrapped in One Movie
  By A26KIF01GEUXBT on 2008-01-03
  While there is romance in this movie, it is not a romance, nor is it a cute costume drama. William Wilberforce came to be known as the keeper of the Britain's conscience. This movie shows us his struggle against slavery in the British Empire.
  
  The title of the movie comes from John Newton's famous hymn, Amazing Grace. Newton was a slave trader early in his life but when confronted by God turned his ship around and released the slaves he held. While Newton was a friend of Wilberforce and is a part of this movie, the focus of the movie is William Wilberfore, (Ioan Gruffudd) who, when confronted by that same God, spent years working to abolish slavery and improve the life of man and beast.
  
  One reviewer has argued at length that Wilberforce was not a saint. All who follow the call of God are saints, but they are also human and imperfect. Wilberforce was both saint and sinner, but because he was not afraid to follow the call of God countless humans and animals had better lives. In addition to his struggle against slavery Wilberforce worked to establish charity schools for children and also founded the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which continues to this day as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Britain.
  
  A few reviewers have stated the movie should have had more Africans or dealt more with the African experience, but the movie was not about Africa or Africans, it was about the parliamentary fight of William Wilberforce to make slavery illegal in the British Empire.
  
  Recommendation: As I mentioned in the title of this review the movie has history, drama and even a bit of romance. This is an excellent film. I recommend it. Five stars.
  
  Kyle Pratt
  
  
• Think big
  By A2Q42QDN6QQXSF on 2008-01-28
  This film is an inspiring account of the stuggle of William Wilberforce and his contribution to elevating society. His tireless efforts to end the slave trade are realistically portrayed in an intensely dramatic few hours. It is good story for young people, especially in demonstrating that doing what is right is not easy and not popular, but you can change hearts with persistence. In the film, William Pitt says that Wilberforce never wavers, is never swayed from his purpose. The film has compelled me to ask: Can anyone say that about me?
  
  
• A thouching Movie, not religious - an historical masterpiece
  By A1TKM36EYEQNSM on 2007-09-27
  I went to see Amazing Grace with the teens of my church as a chaperon. I did not really know what to expect with the exception that I was told it was about the abolition of slavery in England. What a great story for all to learn that it was the Anglos in England who were amongst the first to abolish slavery. It is not a story we hear much about. Wilberforce got religion as they say. His mentor, John Newton, who wrote the hymn 'Amazing Grace,' taught him about what slavery was. In the theatrical version of the story, Wilberforce wanted to go into the ministry. Newton suggests to him his calling is to free the slaves, to make that his life's work.
  
  Oh that we had such passion for the things of this life today. I liked it becaused it showed about the potential in man to accomplish great things if he has a heart. I am a believer in God, yet, not a religionist. Religion, sometimes, causes more difficulty because it is so much like men and not like the God that it is attached to. Wilberforce lived his religion. Who knows though, maybe he was an enlightened soul, who really was against the crown, or maybe he really saw the commonalities between himself and the Jacobites in France. He was able to hold forth in his battle in the Parliament.
  
  It is a story like no other in recent times. I hope that more come to see it, that it gets its time in the media. We never really heard much about it. It is a story for everyone. Historical, with a strong ethic for the love of mankind. Wilberforce and his story will inspire people to stand for what they believe. In the times we live in today, it is rare for people to stand up for what is right. Wilberforce is an example of almost unwavering commitment to a cause.
  
  The world was better for his efforts, I think you will be better for seeing, Amazing Grace. I am getting the DVD.
  
  
• The fight against slavery, up close
  By AGEIT17HENDIS on 2007-10-16
  Amazing grace
  
  A movie about the ending of the slave trade and the eventual ending of slavery in Britain is a worthy subject in this year of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of its abolition. One should note that this was done, unlike in the United States, by mainly democratic means rather than civil war. Would that all our victories could be won in such a manner but history is replete with many more examples of the necessity for bloody social struggles, win or lose.
  
  The core of this film is however a little disquieting as to its fidelity to historic facts or at least the way they are presented on the screen. In my youth I believed that Wilberforce's parliamentary fight was the key to abolition. While it is impossible to ignore his contribution to the struggle against slavery time and more study have revealed many other factors, not the least the push from below by the working class and other oppressed strata of British society, in contributing to that result. Based solely on the film one would never get the impression that those efforts from below counted and once again we are treated to that timeworn premise that the `great man' was decisive.
  
  Commercial films are not obliged by their nature to be paragons of historical correctness. An informative article in a recent New York Review of Books (June 14, 2007) discusses in greater detail the historical problems than I wish to do here. While I encourage everyone to see this film (if for not other reason that the magnificent perform by Albert Finney) one should use that as a starting point to investigate the other details about this great struggle to end a heinous crime against blacks and against humanity.
  
  
  
• well-named movie
  By A1YJM7G6RCQDH2 on 2007-10-21
  If you watch this expecting a "Christian movie", you'll probably be disappointed. If you watch this expecting a movie about a Christian and how his faith informs and directs his life and his work, you'll probably be greatly encouraged.
  
  Amazing Grace tells the story of William Wilberforce, a member of the British parliament in the late 18th and early 19th century, who worked to abolish Britain's involvement in the slave trade. Wilberforce's co-MPs posed quite the opposition, both because of prejudices and economic factors (the livelihood of many who voted them into office depended on the slave trade).
  
  Although strongly interested in abolition early in his career, he began to wonder if a newly redisovered faith demanded that he abandon politics and dedicate himself full-time to "the Lord's work". He consulted with many -- even John Newton, a former slave ship captain and writer of the eponymous hymn -- all of whom recommended that he remain in politics.
  
  While still wrestling with the decision, Wilberforce encountered Thomas Clarkson and several other abolitionists who convinced him that he could marry the two concepts -- by pushing hard for abolition in the political arena in which he found himself, he would be doing "the Lord's work".
  
  And therein lies the crux of the story for the Christian who is watching this film. While God certainly calls some to abandon a "secular" career for a "sacred" one, there is work to be done in the secular world in which we live. And Wilberforce did not stop wrestling with which way to go until God gave him a clear sign through Clarkson and company.
  
  How the story ended is obvious -- when's the last time you saw a British slave ship? But how it gets there, and the lives of those involved, is what is so compelling. I'm not really one for historical movies about 18th century Brits -- my dad rolls his eyes at my mom's enjoyment of what he calls "stiff neck-ed" movies -- but I was pulled in quite quickly. People from a distant land and even more distant time come alive as regular people.
  
  William Wilberforce was a man extraordinarily used by God in a "secular" profession. This is the message of Amazing Grace -- the movie, the song, and grace itself.
  
  
• While not a great movie, it is a movie about a great man and you should see it.
  By AUHG8KSHI529U on 2007-11-22
  This is a good movie whose story is so important that it raises the movie above its quirks and flaws. Simply, you should see this movie. Better, you should read the book "Amazing Grace" and learn about the real life of William Wilberforce. However, this movie is a fine place to start. Yes, the nitpickers can find flaws (starting with the star being much taller than the character he is playing), but they really don't matter so much.
  
  William Wilberforce was the son of a very wealthy merchant family from Hull (northern England). He was an orator of genius and very charismatic. He had health issues with his bowels for which opium was the only remedy in his time. His friends were the worldly types such as William Pitt the Younger and the very religious of the dissenter variety such as Isaac Milner and others. When Pitt was converted and became a committed Christian he felt God had two important missions for him: To lift the lives of the poor and to free the slaves.
  
  This movie is not a biography of the life of William Wilberforce nor does aim to tell the whole story of the abolishment of slavery. It is a picture that tells the story of that part of Wilberforce's life in Parliament that, over a generation, overthrew the slave trade. While the movie is very impressionistic with the history of the Parliamentary battle, it does get the sense of opposition and hatred across to the viewer. I found the jumping between the past and the movie's present time and bit confusing because the star, Ioan Gruffudd, doesn't age in any consistent way even though the last triumphant scene took place in 1833 when Wilberforce was out of Parliament and is a conflation of many successes along the way. There was no single triumph that ended slavery once and for all.
  
  Charles Fox was never a Lord and had died in 1806. John Newton was never the crazed hermit depicted in the movie. The fiction created to represent him is well played by Albert Finney and captures the anguish and guilt felt by so many in the abolitionist movement for the society that had enslaved so many humans beings, but in no way captured the real life public activism of the former slave ship captain.
  
  Still, with the conflations, anachronisms, and outright fictions, you really should learn the name of William Wilberforce. He was a great and good man who gave his life and fortune to the betterment of mankind. But don't stop with the movie. Your life will be enriched by getting to know the real life human being with all his complexity and struggles.
  
  Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI
  
  
• An Amazing Film!
  By A31T5ANGT3NCDR on 2008-01-10
  After watching the film "Amazing Grace" the other night, I had to immediately watch it again, so impressive was the remarkable attention to historical detail and authenticity. It was easy to smell the lush English countryside, the dim old churches, and the stench of the slave ships. It plunges the viewer into late eighteenth, early nineteenth century England.
  
  I must admit, however, that I was a bit confused by the portrayal of the Duke of Clarence, the future William IV, as an unappealing midget. Did the prince, whom I have always thought of as a very handsome man, really spend that much time lounging around the House of Commons? I thought Clarence was usually to be found with the navy, or with Mrs. Jordan and their ten children. But then I do not really know that much about him.
  
  The story pivots around the first encounter of politician William Wilberforce with the lovely, idealistic young lady who was to become his wife. Barbara encouraged Wilberforce to persevere in his struggle to outlaw the slave trade in the British Empire, in spite of his many health problems. The wealthy merchants and their representatives in parliament stood against him. It is interesting that in autocratic France, slavery had long been abolished; a former slave, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, held an exalted post at the court of Versailles.
  
  Wilberforce, a devout Christian, gained popular support for the cause through education, boycotts, and skillful political maneuvering. His character, portrayed by Ioann Grufudd as an eccentric English country gentleman, in love with God, is utterly captivating. His courage and refusal to surrender his convictions, in spite of slander and ridicule, made him a prince among men, one who was totally free.
  
  
• TRUTH BEHIND THE WORDS
  By A2DAHERP7HYJGO on 2008-01-19
  Many believe that the stories conceived by writers offer compelling tales that take us on journeys unimagined. There is some truth in this idea. But at the same time, there are journey's that men have taken in the past that offer themselves to compelling tales as well, offering more drama than imaginable. Such is the story of William Wilberforce.
  
  Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) was a 19th century politician whose views in Parliament were a bit unconventional for the times. As the tale beings, William has just lost his greatest political battle, an attempt to abolish the slave trade in the whole of the British kingdom. Succumbing to ill health, he has retreated to his cousin's home to recuperate. Along the way his cousin (and his wife) introduce William to a young woman who has similar viewpoints to his and who has been a staunch supporter of his beliefs. It is through their short courtship that William tells her the story of how he came to this point in his life.
  
  As his political career was beginning, Wilberforce hit a snag in the road. He was touched with a profound belief in God and considered a life as a minister turning his back on politics altogether. His friendship with one time classmate William Pitt the Younger (Benedict Cumberbatch) leads Pitt to coerce Wilberforce to learn more about the slave trade. Meeting in secret with those who have strived to have the cruelty of slavery brought into the public eye, Wilberforce is overcome with a belief that not only is it wrong but that it must be stopped.
  
  At one point in the story, The Duke Of Clarence (Toby Jones) offers to put up one of his slaves to offset a bet during a card game with Wilberforce. While he turns down the offer, he is encouraged by his friend to sing for fellow members of Parliament in the club where the game was taking place. The song he chooses is "Amazing Grace" which was written by a man Wilberforce is familiar with, an ex-sea captain named John Newton (Albert Finney) who has since retired and who wrote the song while overpowered with grief for the atrocities he had seen with the slaves.
  
  The story continues, showing the ups and downs of politics in the 19th century and the battles that Wilberforce and his followers went through in their attempts to change a system in place for many years, an economic whirlwind that brought money into the country but at what cost. It is the drama of mans inhumanity to man and one mans attempt to change what is accepted and make it unacceptable.
  
  Gruffudd does a wonderful job as Wilberforce, making him not only a noble person to look up to but a human one as well. The character is filled with passion for his beliefs and Gruffudd brings this out in each and every scene. The supporting cast is equally adept at bringing the story off of the pages of history and making it an inviting trip into history that many are unaware of.
  
  The song "Amazing Grace" may be only a starting point for many, bringing them round to the truth behind it. But the movie "Amazing Grace", while touching on a depressing subject, is an uplifting tale of a man who changed history for the better. It's a movie that's worth watching with the whole family.
  
  
  
• Ioan deserves an Oscar Nomination
  By A2MK80I31FKB18 on 2008-01-27
  Why did the Academy ignore this movie for Oscar Nomination?
  
  Ioan Gruffudd plays William Wilberforce a member of Parliament who tries with all his might to have Parliament abolish the British Slave trade.
  
  We have seen this story before with Amistad but there is a fluidity and ethereal quality that makes this movie so watchable. The cinematography, the empassioned dialogue between characters and the realism of atrocities committed by slave owners as described by those who lived to tell of it.
  
  Albert Finney gives a powerful performance as ex-slave-ship captain John Newton who went on to write the beautiful hymn, "Amazing Grace".
  
  Ioan Gruffudd is such a talented actor and does period pieces SO well-e.g. Horatio Hornblower, Great Expectations,Poldark, etc.. He SHOULD HAVE got an Oscar Nomination for this!
  
  SPOILER ALERT: The ending of this movie is so moving, as a regiment of bagpipes plays "Amazing Grace" outside Westminster Abbey-the final resting place of Mr. Wilberforce which I had the privilege of visiting.
  
  

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